Clamor Magazine, 1999-2006

Clamor Magazine existed as a movement publication from 1999 to 2006. For many activists, this was a formative period in our lives, including the Seattle WTO protests, September 11, and the Bush Administration. We printed work from over 800 writers, artists, and photographers.

In the early 2000s, magazine publishers, especially independent publishers, were just starting to figure out how to combine online content with existing print magazines. Because of this, very little content from Clamor was online.
We had always been proud of how Clamor provided a platform for hundreds of new voices. This work is important not just as a historic (or nostalgic) document, but because it provides context for current and ongoing struggles. Even in hindsight, we are impressed with the quality of the magazine. There are so many stellar contributions, including in-depth discussions of issues that are relevant today.

In 2014 we created the Clamor Archive project, the site you are viewing now. To create the archive, we worked with the non-profit Internet Archive to digitize the entire print run of the magazine — 38 regular issues and two special editions. Derek Hogue from Amphibian created the website and the interface to make the magazines searchable, and dozens of folks chipped in through an IndieGoGo campaign to make it happen.

“Before the internet put alternative publications at our fingertips, dedicated journalists and media activists were building publications that challenged the mainstream. Clamor was one of the best, and digitizing the Clamor archive will create a great resource.” —Robert Jensen, Austin, TX

“Clamor Magazine was one of the most important progressive publications in the U.S. during the first decade of the 21st century. It made unique contributions to the intellectual and cultural landscape by amplifying the voices of DIY zine writers and radical political activists whilst maintaining an accessible style and upbeat tone. Too often, the histories of recent social movements and foward-looking, alternative cultural practices are inaccessible until scholars recover them decades later. An online archive of Clamor Magazine would serve as a valuable resource to those new to such efforts, as well as to those whose ideas and communities Clamor so assiduously documented.” — Andrew Cornell, Haverford College, Haverford, PA

“Few publications took the radical possibilities of DIY media and punk publishing more seriously than Clamor. Clamor set a high standard for anyone seeking to make media an independent, critical yet crucial voice for the personal and political transformation that might be called “revolution.” If you haven’t read Clamor, you need to… and then, more importantly, you need to go make your own media with the same truth, courage, compassion, and creativity that Clamor embodied.” — Mark Anderson, Positive Force DC/We Are Family, Washington DC

“I first encountered Clamor in the early 2000s. Clamor Magazine’s thoughtful reflection and bold approach unearths insight about how our society functions—and how to change it. It was indispensable to me in building my understanding of the world, and its analysis is still relevant. I’m excited that the digitization of the magazine will make it accessible to many more as we enter new political eras, but are grounded that the challenges movements face remain the same.” — Joshua Kahn Russell, Oakland, CA

“Clamor needs to be preserved! As an important element of the political independent publishing landscape of the late ’90s/early 2000s, its archive is a huge resource to activist communities today.” — Lisa Jervis, founding editor/publisher, Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture. Oakland, CA

“Remember way back before anyone besides the military had the Internet? Remember all the way back in the 1980s and 1990s when discovering a particularly great zine was one of the finest joys in life? Then something happened that changed everything. Clamor. My favorite authors and friends could be found together, telling the truth of our lives, full of joy and justice, in one issue after another. Clamor has been gone too long, and its time we had our revenge on the Internet for taking the fun out of life — making every issue of Clamor available far and wide for thousands, millions, maybe billions of people to read and rediscover. Yeah, it was that good.” James Mumm, Brooklyn, NY

“Clamor was the voice of a generation before the generation even knew it needed one. It deconstructed big media, making individual media relevant, valid, and vital. Everyone could become the media and the media became everyone, giving a voice to the voiceless. It was a source for information and inspiration, a do-it-yourself guide to how media could be done by the non-media. Seven years, 38 issues, and an outlet for 800 plus writers and artists. Someone needs to document this. The revolution was not televised, may well have been compromised, but it was noticed and will continue to be so. Thanks to Clamor.” — John Yates, Stealworks, Alameda, CA

“Clamor offered a bracing mash-up of youthful dissent, impassioned DIY organizing and culture-infused politics that was rare to find in the early ’00s. Look back over its pages, and you’ll find the roots of many movements and tactics that have since inspired global headlines.” — Jessica Clark, co-author, Beyond the Echo Chamber: Reshaping Politics Through Networked Progressive Media, Philadelphia, PA

“Clamor was at the crest of a wave of alternative culture that people had created by talking to each other in underground shows and collective houses, through hand-mailed zines, and on the streets. When Clamor pushed its way onto the shelves, we found that we had something to say to the larger world, that our conflicting, but heartfelt and thoughtful, voices mattered.” — Carwil Bjork-James, Nashville, TN

“Clamor was special. Why? Because it served as a mirror for a certain moment in America’s politically radical counterculture, capturing the messy contradictions of disparate movements that seemed constantly on the brink of converging, coalescing, colliding, crashing, burning. Publications like Clamor come along once a generation, and we owe it to future generations to make sure that its voice can still be heard.” _ — Jeremy Adam Smith, author, founding editor of Shareable.net, former director of the Independent Press Development Fund, San Francisco, CA_

“Clamor created space for ideas and perspectives that are typically marginalized — even in the progressive media space. I haven’t seen an issue in many years, but I’d be willing to bet that large chunks of the content are still relevant, if not instructive, on how we might envision - and act out - a better world.” — Gavin Leonard, Columbus, OH

“Clamor certainly qualifies as seminal. But more importantly, it was a good read. For a generation of activists and journalists that is only now coming of age, it was a gathering place, a training ground, and a sounding board. From criminal justice reform, to corporate exploitation of the environment, to an overall move back to local control of our communities, Clamor was where new ideas and emerging struggles made it to print. That history needs to be preserved and made available to all, not just for posterity’s sake, but because the content still has relevance to ongoing movements for change. Long live Clamor!” — Andrew Stelzer, producer, Making Contact, Oakland, CA

“The 38 issues of Clamor Magazine comprise a treasure trove of fine and intelligent writing. Always concerned with the issues that arise from the unequal society we live in, the articles remain timely. The interviews in particular are classics; I am honored to have been one of the people interviewed.” — Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of the forthcoming Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, San Francisco, CA

“Clamor was the real deal. Astonishingly so. Against all the odds, J & J not only produced 38 issues in seven years — a fantastic feat in itself — but became both the voice of the emerging movement of movements, and the voice of the previously voiceless too. They encouraged, amplified, nurtured and engaged with the best of the independents. To paraphrase the old imperialist Winston Churchill, himself ‘never has so much been produced by so few’. And with such consistent quality. And to such effect, I might add.” — Ramsey Kanaan, PM Press, Oakland, CA

“Clamor always published smart, insightful writing, rather than the preaching to the choir found in most left media. Importantly, in every issue there would be one article that pissed me off. I valued that because Clamor was not afraid to upset its audience. If leftists were half as smart as we thought we were, we would be a lot more powerful. During its stellar but all-too-brief run, Clamor excelled at sharp thinking and challenging the sacred cows of the left. It’s a voice that is sorely missed today.” — Arun Gupta, co-founder of The Indypendent and The Occupied Wall Street Journal. New York, NY